Seeing Red
by Interspark
Summary: Marceline the Vampire Queen returns from her travels around Ooo, and reunites with the love of her life, Princess Bonnibel Bubblegum.


Seeing Red

Rain cascaded down on the Candy Kingdom in sheets. The colossal Gumball Guardians that usually filled the air above the city with enormous bubbles had taken a break for the night. High in the Kingdom's castle, Princess Bubblegum's bedroom light pierced the darkness.

The princess sat at her desk, gazing intently down her microscope, having dismissed Peppermint Butler's suggestion that she go to bed, hours ago. At the other end of her microscope, Bubblegum saw hundreds of tiny creatures swarming around in terror as she tapped the side of their petri dish.

Suddenly, the bedroom's windows flew open and a frigid breeze blew in. Bubblegum jumped and span around, knocking the petri dish to the floor, to the sound of barely audible screams. She stood up, and cautiously walked over to the windows. After squinting into the darkness for a while to no avail, she pulled the windows closed and turned around.

There were few people in the Candy Kingdom who would have reacted to what Bubblegum saw, the way she did. Bubblegum's microscope, along with several other objects from her desk, had taken to the air and started leaping back and forth, as if being juggled by something invisible. All traces of fear vanished from the Princess' face and she broke into a broad grin.

As she ran forwards, the objects from her desk fell to the floor with a crash and a girl appeared, floating a few inches off the ground, with grey-blue skin and a mane of wild, black hair. Marceline the Vampire Queen flew forwards and embraced the princess, then leant in to kiss her, her hands stroking the silky curtain of bubblegum that was the princess' hair. After almost a minute, the two of them leant back, still holding each other and staring longingly into each other's eyes.

"I missed you." Bubblegum said weakly.

"You too, Bonnie." Marceline smiled.

Several months ago, Marceline had left to travel across Ooo to get away from her former father figure, who had been subconsciously stalking her ever since his magic crown had made him lose his mind over 900 years ago.

After a moment, Marceline noticed a flicker of remorse in Bubblegum's eyes. She let go of her and put her feet on the floor.

"What's up?" She asked, concerned.

Princess Bubblegum hesitated. She clearly hadn't wanted to bring this up so quickly. Eventually, she conceded.

"I'm sorry Marcy. But the Ice Ki… Simon… is already here."

Marceline's eyes widened. She sat down on Bubblegum's bed with her head in her hands, looking dismayed.

"He didn't follow me!?" She asked in disbelief.

"No, he left right after you did, just as you predicted. But a couple of weeks ago, he came back. I was really worried about you. I tried to ask him why he was back…"

Marceline looked up expectantly.

"… he thought I was hitting on him…" Bubblegum finished.

Marceline groaned and stared at the floor, her fingers running through her hair. Bubblegum sat next to her and gently put an arm around her shoulder. She desperately wanted to ask Marceline if she would be leaving again, but didn't want to sound selfish. She knew her girlfriend was having a traumatic experience and the decision was hers to make.

As if she had read Bubblegum's mind, Marceline smiled and said, "I'm gonna stay. It's cool that Simon's here, as long as you're here too." She rested her head on Bubblegum's shoulder and sighed. She had missed the sweet, sugary fragrance that came off the princess' hair and clothes.

After a while, Marceline stood up and reopened the bedroom windows.

"I'm gonna go crash at my place. I came here right after I cleared the squatters out. So I still gotta unpack."

Bubblegum winced as if she'd forgotten something important.

"You mean Finn and Jake?"

"You know those dweebs?"

Bubblegum rubbed the back of her head, embarrassedly.

"I'm sorry. I tried to keep your place free. I only found out they'd moved in after they saved me from this dragon. I didn't have the heart to tell them the place was taken…"

There was a pause. Once again, the princess didn't need to tell Marceline what she was thinking.

"You want me to give them their tree house back?" Marceline asked.

Bubblegum smiled, unable to ask Marceline to give up her home. Marceline smiled back.

"I'll go find them. Later Bonnie."

And with that, Marceline flew out of the window and vanished into the night.

The next day, Marceline and Princess Bubblegum walked hand in hand up a grassy hill. The Candy Kingdom was just visible in the distance. In Bubblegum's free hand, she held a large picnic basket. In Marceline's she was holding a large, pink parasol, which was resting on her shoulder. There wasn't a cloud in the sky and the sun glared down on them. Bubblegum cringed at the faint smell of smoke coming off Marceline, despite the shade the parasol offered.

"You know I don't mind hanging out at night, right?" Bubblegum said.

"It's cool." Said Marceline. "It's kinda exhilarating being out in daytime."

Bubblegum frowned. She had never liked how cavalier Marceline was about safety, especially when it was her own.

Eventually, they reached the top of the hill, where a small tree offered some shade. Marceline dropped the parasol and floated on her back, with her hands behind her head.

Princess Bubblegum pulled a small radio out of the basket and fiddled with the dials until it started playing slow, dancing music. She ran over to Marceline, took her hand and pulled her into the middle of the tree's shadow.

"Come on Marcy! Dance with me!" She said, happily.

"Haha, ok…"

Marceline took the princess' hands and lifted her knees so she could float at eye level to her.

"Marceline! It's not dancing if your feet don't touch the floor!" Bubblegum snipped.

"Sure it is. I'll show you." Marceline smiled.

She let go of Bubblegum's left hand and wrapped her arm tightly around her waist, and then she lifted them both into the air. Bubblegum laughed as they drifted back and forth in time with the music. They floated beneath the tree for several minutes, laughing and gazing into each other's eyes. Bubblegum held Marceline tightly as they danced in the air, but not for fear of falling.

A moment later, Bubblegum flinched.

"Marceline! Look out!" She cried.

Marceline had drifted dangerously close to the edge of the tree's shadow. Suddenly, her forehead erupted in boils, and smoke spewed out. Marceline hissed and closed her eyes. The two of them fell to the ground and Marceline scurried back into the shade.

Bubblegum crawled over to Marceline and lifted her head up. Asides from a strong smell of burning, Marceline was already as good as new. Bubblegum sighed and kissed Marceline's forehead.

"This is the last date we're having outdoors in daylight!" Bubblegum said sternly.

"Geez Bonnie, relax! You don't even know if sunlight could kill me." Marceline replied, defensively.

"Trust me, it can…"

Bubblegum sighed and collapsed onto her back. Marceline lay next to her and the two of them stared up at the tree that loomed over them.

They spent the next few minutes eating, and draining the colour from, the various red foods that the princess had brought, and talking about the time they'd been apart. Marceline recounted all the Adventures she'd had and the people she'd met in her travels across the Land of Ooo. Bubblegum told Marceline about Finn and Jake and the troubles that the Candy Kingdom had faced, (while avoiding those caused by the Ice King).

"Hey, do you see that…?" Marceline sat up and stared into the distance.

Bubblegum looked. Barely above the horizon a tiny orange spec was zooming along, leaving a grey trail behind it. As it got closer towards them, the two of them realised it was a fireball.

"Oh geez… Not this guy again…" Bubblegum groaned.

Marceline looked at her, then turned back to the fireball. It was now heading straight for them. As it neared them, it went into a nosedive and hit the ground with an explosion of smoke. Marceline and Bubblegum coughed and blinked it out of their eyes as it blew past them.

When the smoke faded, there was a man standing before them. He wore a suit and top hat, had short, neat hair, and was made entirely of fire. He tipped his hat at Bubblegum.

"Princess." He greeted her.

"Flame Prince…" Bubblegum grudgingly returned the greeting, and then turned to Marceline. "One of my suitors." She explained.

"I believe the correct term is 'fiancé,'" The Flame Prince corrected. "That, or I just told my father a _big_ lie."

"It's the second one…" Princess Bubblegum scowled. "I don't date evil…" She glanced at Marceline and quickly changed what she was about to say. "…men."

The Flame Prince glanced between Bubblegum and Marceline, and then he scowled angrily.

"You'd date a _vampire_ but not me!?" He demanded.

"Dude, Vampire _Queen_." Marceline corrected. "Girl's got standards."

The Flame Prince regained his composure. He smirked at Bubblegum.

"Well anyway… Didn't mean to seem like I was asking." He said.

He waved his arms around at right angles and chanted a spell. When he had finished, he pointed at Bubblegum and a ball of blue light shot at, and enveloped her.

Before Bubblegum or Marceline could react to the Flame Shield spell, the Flame Prince had darted towards them. He seized Bubblegum's wrist and pulled her out of the tree's shadow before Marceline could stop him.

"Do excuse us." The Flame Prince said, politely, over Bubblegum's protests. "But we've an appointment in the Fire Kingdom, and no _vampires_ allowed."

He emphasised the word 'vampires' by snapping his fingers, at which point, Bubblegum's parasol, which Marceline had dived for, burst into flames.

Marceline charged at the Flame Prince but recoiled from the sunlight like she had run into a solid wall.

"Toodle-pip!" The Flame Prince waved at Marceline.

"BONNIBEL!" She shrieked.

"Stay there until the sun sets!" Bubblegum demanded. "I'll be fine!"

Another fireball engulfed the Flame Prince and Bubblegum and they took to the sky.

Marceline hopped on the spot anxiously and gritted her teeth. She reached gingerly into the sunlight, but it was like dipping her fingers into acid.

As the fireball got smaller and smaller, Marceline closed her eyes. She thought of Bonnibel. Sweet, kind, _brilliant_ Bonnibel. Who she knew would swim through lava to save her without a moment's delay.

With a determined glare that could have cut diamonds, Marceline looked up at the distant Flame Prince and rocketed from the shadow of the tree and into the air. Her skin immediately began to boil and crack but she flew on, undeterred.

The Flame Prince's smoke trail was rapidly consumed by the larger one Marceline was leaving behind her. Hanging beneath the Flame Prince, Bubblegum noticed Marceline long before he did.

"MARCELINE! NO!" She screamed as Marceline was almost upon them.

The Flame Prince turned around far too late. The last thing he saw before he was rendered unconscious was Marceline's fist. The fire went out immediately, Bubblegum went from blue back to pink, and the two of them began to fall.

With the blazing sun shining down on her, Marceline had summoned zombies that looked better than she did at that point, but she wasn't done yet. She dived towards Bubblegum as fast as she could, arms outstretched. The ground hurtled towards them like a train. At the last possible second, Marceline caught up with Bubblegum, they wrapped their arms around each other and with the last of her strength, Marceline levelled out and flew them back towards the tree.

Shortly before getting there, the two of them fell from the air and rolled into the tree's shade. Bubblegum scrambled to her knees and rolled Marceline onto her back.

"Marcy? Sweetie? Say something!" Bubblegum pleaded desperately.

Very slowly, Marceline's boils began to recede. With a hissing sound, her skin began to turn to normal. After almost five minutes, Marceline looked exactly as she had before she flew into the sunlight, but her eyes remained closed.

"Marceline!" Bubblegum tried again, tears beginning to form in her eyes.

Marceline's eyelids fluttered.

"Ok…" She whispered. "No more dates… in daytime…"

Bubblegum smiled and punched Marceline's arm, tears running down her face.

"You idiot!" She cried. "Why did you do that!?"

Marceline sat up and smiled at the princess.

"Because I love you." She said, as if the answer was obvious.

Bubblegum leant forward and kissed Marceline. In the distance, they heard muffled screams and the hiss of steam as the Flame Prince fell into a river, but they paid no attention.

"I love you too Marceline."


End file.
